Homeless in the hedges

PHOTO BY LORINE PARKS

In a cave hollowed out in the hedge past the Knights of Columbus, where the shrubbery hides the railroad track on Burns Avenue from the Eco-Planet Redemption Booth, there lives another of Downey’s homeless.

“He’s young, in his late twenties, I think,” said hair stylist Yolanda, who reads the Patriot avidly and gave me this suggestion. Yolanda and Marina run a personal service boutique hair salon, Young Again, and they do awesome work.

“He has a bicycle, too,” said Yolanda. “He doesn’t ask for money. He just stands there.”

Following up on Yolanda’s tip, I turned off Rives into the entrance to Alberton’s parking lot, where I saw a man ahead of me, pushing a loaded grocery cart and trudging toward the spacious greenery.

I did my marketing, but on my return, no sign of the man. His emptied cart stood in front of the flowering honeysuckle bushes that left ample space between that and the ivy-clad cinderblock wall, for a person to repose.

I was able to snap a few pictures. I would have asked his name, and how he became homeless, and I would have told him I had no money to give but hoped I could help him with my story. I’ll keep going back until we make some kind of contact.

Meanwhile back at the post office, I hear there’s another homeless too, another man. If readers know of other homeless persons and send the information to the Patriot, I’ll try to follow up. The more we can get to know these people, the better we may understand what to do.

As chance allows, I’ll report again.